Card maker? No, I'm a mechanic!

Jiang Zhe raised an eyebrow and pointed to the same bracelet on his wrist as the girl's.

"No, no, no, I'm a test taker too."

"what?"

The girl's surprise froze instantly, turning into astonishment.

She looked Jiang Zhe up and down, her eyes filled with disbelief.

"It doesn't quite look like it..."

Did this uncle wander into the wrong place?

"What do you mean?" Jiang Zhe's face darkened.

"I'm only eighteen, I'm not old yet."

Looking at Jiang Zhe's weathered face, which clearly bore the marks of life, the girl's eyes widened in surprise.

"How many times have you taken the assessment?"

"Can't I experience life?" Jiang Zhe rolled his eyes in annoyance.

Why are people like this these days?

So what if I'm eighteen? So what if I take the exam a few more times?

"No... I'm sorry," she said, sticking out her tongue a little shyly, "Anyway, thank you so much for earlier."

"My name is Lin Xiaoya."

"Jiang Zhe".

Jiang Zhe casually replied, then glanced at the pit where the man-eating flower had burrowed.

That thing runs incredibly fast; it disappears in the blink of an eye.

It's a bit of a shame, but monsters of this level probably don't have anything good to them.

Chasing after it would probably waste a lot of time, which isn't worth it.

"Alright, since your leg is fine, let's find a place to explore."

Jiang Zhe dusted off his hands, showing no intention of forming a team.

"And watch your step."

After saying that, he turned and walked into the depths of the woods without looking back.

"Hey, Brother Jiang Zhe..."

Lin Xiaoya wanted to call him back, after all, it was not easy to meet a reliable person in this unfamiliar environment.

But seeing Jiang Zhe's unwavering figure, she gritted her teeth and still couldn't bring herself to ask to be a burden.

"Jiang Chul...?"

Lin Xiaoya silently memorized the name.

"He's actually a pretty nice person."

She took a spray bottle out of her bag, pulled up the corroded and tattered cuffs of her trousers, and sprayed it a few times onto her somewhat red and swollen skin.

The cool spray had a slightly irritating effect, causing her to let out a soft moan.

After giving her wound a quick treatment, Lin Xiaoya looked around warily.

He then got up, chose a direction, and limped away.

……

After saying goodbye to the unlucky girl who was killed on the spot, Jiang Zhe walked alone through the dark forest.

The environment here is indeed complicated.

Not only was the dense vegetation making it difficult to traverse, but a strange mist permeated the air, interfering with the range of spiritual perception.

This is a nightmare for those who are used to using their mental power to find their way.

However, Jiang Zhe was relaxed.

"Humidity 99%, wind direction southeast, light breeze..."

He adjusted the modified tactical goggles on his nose, a smile playing on his lips.

This was made by modifying the crystal he removed from his previous Eagle Eye technique, along with other materials and cards.

Using mental power without cards can be disrupted, but this won't.

Under the eyepiece, the distant jungle, which was somewhat obscured by mist, became clear.

The insects emitting a red glow on the tree trunk, and some kind of cold-blooded creature in the soil beneath their feet, were now completely exposed.

"Great stuff, this is a physical cheat code!"

Jiang Zhe sighed and strode lightly, avoiding an area that looked like a meadow but was actually a mud pit, and continued deeper into the area.

After walking for about ten minutes, the surrounding fog seemed to have become even thicker.

"Squeak..."

A faint scream drifted into Jiang Zhe's ears on the wind.

The frequency of this sound is extremely high; an ordinary person might simply ignore it.

However, with his mental energy abundant and flowing throughout his body, Jiang Zhe could hear clearly.

"Ultrasound?"

Jiang Zhe stopped and adjusted the mode of his eyepiece.

The next second, the scene in my field of vision changed.

Countless sound waves were seen moving rapidly within the tree canopy ahead.

"Goodness."

Jiang Zhe gasped.

"Did we disturb a bat nest?"

According to the feedback from the eyepiece, there were at least dozens of creatures hovering there.

And they had clearly already discovered him as an intruder.

"Splash!"

As if to confirm his guess, the leaves above his head rustled.

Immediately following was a group of bats, all grayish-white in color, with wingspans of about half a meter.

They had no eyes; instead, they had enormous ears and a mouth full of sharp teeth.

Mist Bats!

Although these monsters are about as strong as the man-eating plants, they are social creatures.

Moreover, they are extremely adept at using fog as cover.

Even a level one card master will suffer greatly if they don't have a way to deal damage over a wide area.

"squeak!"

The lead bat let out a sharp screech and launched the first attack.

His ashen figure, concealed by the mist, was about to pounce on Jiang Zhe in an instant.

"So fast!"

Jiang Zhe's pupils contracted slightly, and he raised his right hand, his mental energy exploding rapidly.

As mental energy seeped in, the cards placed in the card box were instantly activated.

One-Punch Man, Activate!

"when!"

A crisp metallic clanging sound rang out.

The bat's sharp teeth bit down hard on the newly formed armor shell, sparks flew everywhere, but only a few shallow white marks were left.

"It can be defended against!"

Jiang Zhe felt a little more at ease, but before he could retaliate, he heard an even more intense whooshing sound from above.

"Whoosh!"

The remaining bats, like sharks that have smelled blood, swarmed down and surrounded him.

Jiang Zhe frowned and instantly channeled his mental power into the core of the arm armor.

"ignition!"

"Sizzle... Pfft!"

However, the expected violent roar did not occur.

Instead, there was a muffled sound, like something damp.

Although the exhaust pipe emitted a plume of flame, the flame dimmed considerably upon contact with the surrounding thick fog.

The flames, which were originally half a meter long, have shrunk by half.

"Damn it, there's something wrong with this fog!"

Jiang Zhe's expression changed drastically.

The special substance in this fog is actually able to suppress the flames to this extent?

It's important to know that even in a river, the flames emitted by the Fireball card won't be weakened much.

The lack of power caused the punch to be half a beat slower.

The bat that was originally aimed at the attack easily dodged the powerful blow with a nimble side somersault in mid-air.

"Squeak squeak squeak!"

The bats around him seemed to be mocking his clumsiness, and instead of retreating, they did not leave.

Instead, they hovered around him even more arrogantly, occasionally catching him off guard.

Despite being protected by arm armor, Jiang Zhe was still extremely annoyed by the feeling of being unable to exert any of his strength.

"Get out of here when the wind gets strong."

He made a decisive move, unleashing his mental power once again.

"Sizzle!"

With the injection of mental energy, the capacitor on the escape card instantly discharged.

A powerful gust of air enveloped my body and then exploded rapidly.

"Bang!"

Using the force of the wind, Jiang Zhe was propelled backward, instantly creating a distance of five or six meters.

But this is not enough.

The bats continued their relentless pursuit.

"no……"

Jiang Zhe landed and steadied himself, a ruthless glint flashing in his eyes as he looked at the relentless swarm of bats.

He turned around, gathered his strength, and slammed it into a tree next to him that was as thick as a thigh.

"Cut it off!"

Although the jet propulsion is still obstructed, even half the power would be sufficient in this situation.

"boom!"

A loud bang.

The dense branches and leaves fell along with the tree trunk, landing right in the path of the bat swarm.

The fallen trees stirred up clouds of dust, creating a tremendous commotion and tremor.

This also threw these bats, which rely on ultrasound for navigation, into disarray.

They flew around in panic, and for a moment they did not come any closer.

"A good opportunity."

Without the slightest hesitation, taking advantage of the bats' confusion, Jiang Zhe turned around and disappeared into the bushes on the other side.

"Of the thirty-six stratagems, running away is the best."